


Acceptance

by Ariel_Tempest



Series: A Long Time Coming [2]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Humor, Post-Series, Romance, Sequel, Spoilers, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 05:09:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11570988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariel_Tempest/pseuds/Ariel_Tempest
Summary: Mrs. Baxter finds the answer to a question.





	Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn't planned a sequel, but someone asked, and the seeds took root and sprouted and attracted the little angora plot bunny. Hope you all enjoy the fluff.

The school bell rang, warning the world to brace itself for an onslaught of children who had spent the day cooped up inside with their lessons. Miss Baxter stood outside the doorway of the school house, watching the students come trooping out into the sunlight, their serious expressions and academic thoughts traded for smiles and laughter as the first rays of light hit them. Learning was behind them and whatever lay ahead, frequently chores, there was now a stretch of freedom at least as long as the walk home.

The lady's maid sat watching until the last of them had left, on their own or with older siblings or gathered up by parents, and then entered the building herself. It was dark after the brilliant afternoon and without the children it seemed unearthly quiet, like the tomb of some Egyptian pharaoh. She stepped as quietly as possible, a sense of latent reverence insisting that she not break the stillness, down the hall and past the first three classrooms. At the fourth she stopped in the open doorway and looked in. The room was not empty, despite the lack of children, and she quietly watched its one occupant wipe the board clean. He then tidied up his desk, neatly sorting papers and tucking them away, stacking books, and pushing his chair in so that it didn't quite touch the desk, all with the precise motions of a very different occupation than 'teacher'. It was only when he turned to leave that he saw her.

"Oh," he stopped abruptly, visibly shocked for a moment before his expression melted into a nervous, breathless smile. "Miss Baxter. I hadn't expected to see you today."

"I'm sorry it's been awhile, Mr. Molsley," she replied with a quiet smile of her own. "I've wanted to come, but her Ladyship's had a full schedule."

If he was offended by her absence, he didn't show it, or at the very least he forgave her very easily. "I know how that goes," he replied. "But you have a little time today I take it?"

She nodded. "It's my half day, so I'm free until time to dress for dinner. Her Ladyship is in hospital meetings all afternoon." She paused, then added, "I've just been out doing a spot of shopping and since school was nearly out, I was wondering if I could walk home with you?"

"Of course." His expression brightened, his smile losing a bit of its hesitancy, although none of its nerves. "I've missed our walks. And our talks. And, well, I've missed you." He admitted the last with a bashful sort of honesty that made her smile. It had been a little under a week since they'd last seen each other.

"I've missed you as well," Miss Baxter admitted, falling into step beside him as he left the classroom for the hall and accepting his arm as he offered it to her. "How have you been?"

"Well," Mr. Mosley nodded, frowning as he did so, as if he were turning the word over in his head and testing it for accuracy. "I've been well. The students are coming along nicely, save for one or two trouble makers, but every class has one of those. I've not quite figured out what to do with them." He gave a self depreciating little laugh. "I'm afraid it's too late to come across as stern and foreboding. Everyone knows I'm a push over by this point."

"You don't have to be stern and foreboding to get people to do what you want," Miss Baxter countered. "It can actually make some people worse. Look at Mr. Barrow. He's done much better without Mr. Carson looming over him all the time."

Mr. Molsley grimaced a bit at that and Miss Baxter regretted the comparison. Thomas was a subject she doubted she and the teacher would ever see eye-to-eye on. "I still have problems believing he's tolerable these days," he muttered. "And not at all sure the change has anything to do with Mr. Carson. I suspect it's just that he likes being top dog."

While she didn't agree, Miss Baxter knew when to let an argument go. "Perhaps. Either way, it holds true that you don't have to be stern and foreboding."

"Perhaps," Mr. Molsley allowed with a sigh. "But I'm not certain how else to handle the situation. Ah, well. Several years to figure it out, they're both young." He shook off the problem and turned a smile to her. "How have you been?" 

She looked up at him for a moment, blinking as they step through the door and into the sunlight, and studied his face. The light caught his eyes, showing off how blue they were. It also showed off his receding hairline to its best advantage, which she suspected wouldn't please him, but made her smile a little. "I've been well. Busy, as I've said, but life at the house is much as always. Mrs. Patmore and the new gardener have found something to agree on."

Mr. Molsley looked surprised at that. "Really? What?"

"The fact that if Daisy and Andy get any sweeter, they're going to make us all ill."

That actually earned a laugh. "I can see that."

"Master Edward is walking well enough to get into trouble," Miss Baxter continued, seemingly content to talk about house life all day. "And Miss Elizabeth said her first word the other day."

"And what was that?"

This time it was Miss Baxter's turn to laugh. "Mine."

"Well! That certainly sounds like Lady Mary's daughter," Mr. Molsley laughed, then looked around as if afraid the woman in question might appear out of thin air and be offended ."Er, although there's no need to tell her that, of course."

"Of course."

"So what was she claiming?" 

Although she was admittedly a bit reluctant to bring up the topic again, she answered honestly, "Mr. Barrow, as it turns out. I suspect once she's older there are going to be some real fights between her and Master Edward over who gets piggy back rides on demand."

"He was always good with the children, I'll give him that," Mr. Molsley allowed, albeit grudgingly. "And I don't envy him being fought over, not by a pair of Crawleys."

"Talbots."

"They're Lady Mary's, so they're Crawleys. Doesn't matter who their father is."

"I suppose so," Miss Baxter allowed. She paused, letting her attention wander for a moment to the mid-distance where the church stood, tall and stately and solemn. It was nothing compared to the big cathedrals, she knew, but for her it was as grand a building as Downton Abbey itself. "Have you thought of having children, Mr. Molsley? Or has being a teacher spoiled the idea for you?"

"Me?" Mr. Molsley asked, startled into nerves again. He smiled a jumpy, jittery smile as he replied, "I've not really thought about it much. I mean, I'm a bit old to be a father, I guess. Not that I'm terribly old, but I don't know. I suppose it feels like I'm a bit past all of that." He paused, glancing at her from the corners of his eyes, and added, "Of course, who knows what the future may bring."

She smiled, one part of her calming at the answer, another fluttering to life. She knew what she wanted to say to him, she just had to come around to saying it. "Who indeed? I've been thinking about that a lot lately. The future and children both. I think I feel as you do, that children wouldn't fit into my life and I should continue to just enjoy other people's." She hesitated again, feeling her way very carefully through the next part. "A husband, on the other hand, is something I think I'd rather enjoy."

Mr. Molsley stopped dead, and as she turned to face him it looked almost as if he'd stopped breathing. "Is that your answer?" he asked, breathless and hopeful and skitterish all at once. It was the way Miss Baxter felt and made her smile grow even larger, crinkling the corners of her eyes, proving that she was no longer a young girl either. 

She stepped forward and leaned up to plant a light kiss on his cheek. "It is."

* * *

He was waiting for her when she got back to the Abbey, although she was certain, if she asked, he'd insist he'd just stepped out for a quick smoke. The collection of burnt out fag ends at his feet told a different story. He looked up at the sound of her boots on the paving and arched an eyebrow. "Well? Did he tell you it was all a joke?"

"No," she replied primly, although the corners of her mouth kept tugging upward, despite her attempts to keep them down. "And he didn't say that he'd changed his mind either."

"I told you."

"Yes, Mr. Barrow, you did. Congratulations on being right." Any sting the words might have had was completely dampened as she stopped fighting the smile and beamed up at him.

"I'm always right," he informed her with a cheeky grin, most unbecoming of a butler, and a sly, sideways look. "So, when's the wedding?"

"We've still not set a date," she informed him with a slight, exasperated sigh for his impatience. "I need to speak to her Ladyship first. Then we need to choose a place for the reception and make the arrangements. We're thinking by the time school is out for the summer we should be able to get everything in place."

"Well, that's not much time at all," Thomas scoffed. "And here I was expecting a whirl wind romance."

Miss Baxter arched both of her eyebrows at him. "Really, Mr. Barrow, since when do Mr. Molsley and I do whirl wind anything? We're both too calm for that."

"Fair," he allowed. "Given how long it took him to get around to asking you, I should be amazed you're planning on setting a date this year."

He was teasing, and she knew it, but she pursed her lips and pretended she didn't. "At least there's one thing that's settled already."

He glanced at her sideways, his expression inviting her to elaborate.

Fighting down a smile she replied, "We already have a bridesmaid."


End file.
